


Mr. Everything

by FantasistFuturist



Category: Take That (Band)
Genre: Fluff and Angst, M/M, i just heard mr. everything and it inspired this and i really mean no offense to anyone, im a horrible person, mark takes care of gary, this is all set in some other dimension
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-09
Updated: 2015-08-11
Packaged: 2018-04-13 18:24:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4532490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FantasistFuturist/pseuds/FantasistFuturist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Maybe he deserved this, Gary thought to himself. While he had never cheated on Dawn, he'd always been a natural flirt, always became touchy if given the opportunity. Or maybe he had cheated on her emotionally. He realized rather than going to her with his emotions and other problems, he found himself talking to Mark, asking him for advice and words of encouragement.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Gary's love life had been nonexistent until he had met Dawn. Before her, it had been girls (and some boys too) coming and going out his hotel room. At that point it had seemed almost like a routine: Do a show, get drunk, have sex. But he then met this dancer, and as fate would have it, they fell in love, got married a few years later. And she had been there through everything- through the breakup of the band, through the depression after getting dropped from the record label, she had been there. 

Then come 2005, everything seemed to pick up once again. He met with his old band mates, and it almost seemed like there was much more chemistry then, than they had in the beginning. Everyone had matured and learned that in order to gain success not only with fans, but within themselves, they had to communicate. All that went well and Gary found himself enjoying life more than ever. The years went by and he and the boys only seemed to grow closer together. 

Howard always stopped by Gary's house, brought him sweets for the kids. Jason would stop by as well, always recounting stories of the many people he met on his previous travels. The stories always helped as inspiration for Gary. And Mark- or Markie as he called him just stopped by all the time when they were off tour. They would have brunch, or sometimes dinner and talk about everything and nothing. 

However, everything had been too good to be true. 2013 rolled on by, and Gary found himself in the middle of a potential divorce. He had tried to make it work. He really had, but how does one go on forgiving someone who had betrayed his trust. Maybe he deserved this, Gary thought to himself. While he had never cheated on Dawn, he'd always been a natural flirt, always became touchy if given the opportunity. Or maybe he had cheated on her emotionally. He realized rather than going to her with his emotions and other problems, he found himself talking to Mark, asking him for advice and words of encouragement. Whatever it was he did wrong, there was no going back. He couldn't erase the picture of another man's arms holding her. She told him she hadn't expected him back from the X- Factor so soon. The more she talked the more it hurt. In the end, he packed a suitcase and walked out. "I need time to think." Was all he said to her. No, he didn't hate her. Nothing close to it. He just felt...disappointed. 

His hands gripped the steering wheel hard enough to turn his knuckles white. He was pulled over on the side of the road, trying to process the events that had just happened. He finally let go of the steering wheel and reached for his phone. Dialing a number, he pressed it up against his ear. Each ring seemed like an eternity. "Hmm-Hello?" A sleepy voice answered.

"Mate, I'm sorry for calling you so late- I just..." He let out a breath. _Not now. Breathe. Not now. Don't breakdown now._ "I need a place to stay tonight."

Of course a million thoughts and questions ran through Mark's mind as soon as he heard his mate tell him he had no place to go, but they all had to wait. "Come over. I'll have a cuppa waiting for you." The sleepiness in Mark's voice had disappeared. "Thanks mate." And with that Gary clicked the end call button and pulled off the side of the road, in direction of his friend's house.

Mark knew by tone in Gary's voice that there was something definitely wrong, and more so with the fact that he didn't have a place to go. In his head he was just thinking maybe he and Dawn had had a disagreement- and hell he knew how prideful Gary could get. Or maybe- no, he shouldn't assume anything. He just had to be there for his friend, and he was more than happy to do that. As soon as they had hung up, Mark immediately put the kettle on the stove before preparing the guest room. He was alone seeing as Elwood was staying with his grandparents. 

Soon enough there was a knock on his door and quickly Mark went over to open it. On the other side of the door stood Gary, suitcase in hand, and a sadness on his face Mark had only seen once before. "Come in mate." Mark closed the door behind the blonde and walked with him into the living room. Before Mark said anything else, Gary had already embraced the shorter man, pressing his face against the crook of Mark's neck. It came as a surprise to the brunette but nonetheless he wrapped his arms around him. "Mate what's wrong?" The words lingered in the air until Gary finally broke the embrace, his eyes looking a bit watery. "Dawn- um.." He ran a hand through his unkempt hair, "I found her with another man." 

Mark's face was one of surprise and he wished there was something he could say to make his friend feel better. "Oh Gaz, I'm so sorry." He reached out his hand and placed it on Gary's shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze before motioning to the kitchen. "Let's get you some tea." Gary nodded, wiping his eyes as soon as his friend turned around.

Once in the kitchen, Mark had served them both a cup of tea and set it on the table. He sat next to Gary. "I don't know what I'm going to do mate. I just never expected this. Maybe I deserved it. Maybe I wasn't around enough. I 'spose I wasn't Mr. Everything she wanted." Mark immediately reached out and put his hand on top of Gary's. 

"Don't ever say that mate. You don't deserve anything you're going through. Life just has a way to fuck up a good run." Mark said, nudging the blonde's hand. If anybody knew about life fucking you over, Mark did. He had made his share of mistakes and life had kicked his arse a few times but surely enough he had overcome all of that. "All I know, Gaz, is that it's going to hurt for a while, even for Dawn and while things might never go back to how they were, you'll both learn how to move on. Trust me." Mark gave the blonde man's hand a squeeze. "I've been through something like this y'know." He tried to lighten up the mood before standing up. "For now Gaz, you should get some sleep. Tomorrow we can figure out everything else."

Gary attempted to smile as a sign of appreciation to his friend, but the smile never reached his eyes. He stood up and followed Mark to the guest room, picking up his suitcase on the way. "Thank you Markie- for everything. Sorry I just- I didn't really have anyone else to go to." And while he loved his other band mates, it just wasn't the same. 

"Gaz, no need to thank me alright? I'm here whenever you need me, just as I know you will be there for be- and you have been there for me." 

Gary nodded, "Goodnight Markie."

"'Night Gaz." With that Mark closed the door and walked into his own room, his mind racing at 100 miles per hour.


	2. Chapter 2

A thousand thoughts raced through his head. What would happen to the kids? How would he handle the media? What would happen with the house and everything they both had worked so hard for to have?

The haunting thoughts and questions came to a short halt when he felt a pressure on his chest. At first he had convinced himself of it being the emotions he was going through. Sitting up, however, made the pressure increase. It was almost like he couldn't breathe. 

Gary put a hand to his chest. Was he having a heart attack? He was far too young- he knew all those cakes and chocolate bars in his youth would catch up to him. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and tried to take a deep breath. "Oh god..." He couldn't breathe. Not only that, but the feeling in his hands had gone. The more he tried to calm himself down, the harder it became to breathe. Soon he found himself hyperventilating. "I can't...Mark..." His words came out as a wheeze, not nearly loud enough for his friend to hear. 

He tried to stand up, but his knees felt like jelly, almost like they were going numb. "Mark...Mark!" This time he manged to call out his friend's name louder. Was he dying? It felt like he was. 

_I can't breathe. Oh god. I can't breathe._ In his mind those words replayed over and over again. 

Mark had returned to his room after showing Gary to the guest room, and had gone into bed once again. He couldn't sleep though. He was trying to hard to think of the right words to say to Gary when it came time for them to talk about the situation at hand once again. He had managed to get lost in his thoughts only to be interrupted by what sounded to be his name. He heard it again and immediately jumped out of bed, rushing to Gary's room. He opened the door and saw the blonde sitting at the edge of the bed, hunched over, his body shaking. 

"Gaz! Gaz! What's wrong?" 

"I can't breathe. I can't breathe. Mark..I can't..."

It didn't take Mark long to realized what this was. He had gone through something similar a few times through his years. 

"Everything is okay mate. I want you to put yer head in between your knees. Can you do that for me?" Mark's voice no longer was laced with fear and worry. It turned into a soft voice, barely above a whisper. 

Gary's body shook, and a few words slipped past his lips but he did what Mark asked him to. He put his head between his knees. 

"Alright, take a deep breath. Let it out slowly." Mark instructed. Gary tried his best and although his breathing was still shaky, he was no longer hyperventilating. "Do it again." Mark said once more before gently rubbing his hand over Gary's bare back. 

Gary continued taking deep breaths, no longer needing the instruction of Mark. After what seemed like an eternity but in reality had only been about a minute or so, the blonde lifted his head. His eyes looked bloodshot and filled with so much emotion. Mark felt a pang in his chest as soon as he made eye contact with Gary. 

"How are you feeling?" 

"I can breath now..." Gary said, his voice hoarse. "I felt like I was dying." 

"I know mate. It was a panic attack." Mark said, standing up from where he had been crouching. He the sat next to Gary on the bed. "They're awful." The brunette took the liberty to wrap his arm around the blonde, knowing that in situations like these actions definitely counted more than words. Gary leaned into the hug and covered his face with his trembling hands. A shaky sigh escaped through parted lips. 

"D'you need anything Gaz? Another cuppa? Anything at all?"

Gary uncovered his face and looked over at his friend, "Do you think you could keep me company for a while?" 

Mark nodded and gave his friend a small smile, tugging Gary closer to himself. "Of course."

Before they knew it, they had fallen into a conversation about all the ridiculous stories of their past. Mark had started off by reminding Gary about the one time the whole band got food poisoning from a place in Germany. He had managed to distract Gary from everything going on, and from the feeling of panic he had just gone through. From there they were remembering all the lies they told in interviews just to please Nigel. In that part of the conversation, they both had slipped in a few comments about their disdain for their old manager. Mark more so than Gary. 

That's one thing Mark always admired about Gary. He was always the bigger man. Even when Robbie was taking a shit on him, he never fought back. Now that he started to think about it, there were many things Mark admired and liked about Gary. He was always so diplomatic and rarely became enraged. He was classy too. (A little bit cheeky but definitely classy.) He was a child at heart. Most of the time the media only captured the serious and 'get to work' side of Gary, but Gary was just as big of a goofball as Howard- maybe even more. He was also-

Mark realized he had fallen deep in his thoughts and had lost track of the conversation, but he was glad to hear Gary talking, a smile evident in the sound of his voice. After a few moments, Mark caught on and realized Gary was talking about the road trips they all had together.

"Oh god, don't remind me. Dougie always tells the story about all of us wanking in the back of the van." Mark said with a chuckle. "Always says Robbie won."

"Jesus, I remember that. I think we were all high as kite that day. Jay had scored a huge spliff." Gary said, before yawning. He didn't need to check the time to know that it was at least 2 or so in the morning. 

"I don't think New Kids on the Block ever did that." 

That earned a soft chuckle from the blonde as he rested his head against Mark's shoulder. 

Mark continued talking, recalling some more old stories. "Or that one time Howard and Rob ate Mexican food and we were dying the whole way to Glasgow. That was a nightmare that was." Before continuing with another story, Mark heard Gary's breathing slow down. Turning his head slightly, he realized his friend's eyes were fluttering shut. A smile crossed the shorter man's face. "I also remember the prank war of 1993. What a craze that was. Itching powder in me trousers. You lads thought I was dancing, but I was really trying to scratch me balls." Mark chuckled a bit and looked over at Gary, who finally looked to have fallen asleep. Not wanting to risk waking him up yet, he continued down memory lane. "The Rob put super glue on your keyboard. I thought your head was gonna pop. But then you got him back with the explodin' fags. He nearly had a heart attack, he did." 

About ten more minutes or so passed with Mark talking about random band stories. He stopped when he heard a soft snore. Looking over at his mate, he gently set him back on the bed, slowly moving his arm from beneath Gary. Mark then carefully grabbed Gary's legs and put them on the bed before covering him with a few blankets. Making sure all was in order for his mate, he reached over and turned off the lamp but before he could turn to leave, he felt Gary's hand on his arm. The blonde was still sound asleep but his grip remained firm. Mark tried gently pulling away but that only caused Gary to tug him. Mark was sure Gary thought he was someone else, but what was he supposed to do? What if he awoke him and had to explain what just happened? It was too late for this. Deciding it wouldn't hurt to stay, Mark gently climbed on the bed, Gary's hand still wrapped around his forearm. Carefully, he laid down next to his friend, face to face, and saw that for the first time that night, he looked without a worry. Mark smiled and rolled onto his back and closed his eyes. 

It was just two friends sleeping together. It wasn't like they hadn't done this before- when hotels messed up their reservations, or when bus seats weren't too comfy. Before he could getting caught up in his thoughts again, Mark had managed to finally fall asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

The sunlight seeped through the curtains in just the right angle to hit Gary in the face. He opened his eyes, only to regret it immediately. With a sleepy groan, he shielded his eyes from the light. For a few moments he had forgotten where he was. He was only reminded when he felt an arm draped over his abdomen. Turning to look, he saw it was his friend Mark, unceremoniously face planted into the pillow, still sound asleep. Gary couldn't help but to chuckle at the position his friend was. He of course assumed after keeping him company, they both fell asleep. It was nothing weird for the blonde, it was just sleeping. Taking a few moments, he finally convinced himself to get out of bed, carefully enough though to not wake his mate.

He stood next to the bed, stretching out before continuing his morning routine. After a quick shower, he stood in the kitchen, preparing breakfast for his still sleeping friend. Gary had an internal clock, so no matter what he never slept past 7 in the morning (though it didn't mean he didn't take plenty of naps!) The smell of eggs and baked beans soon carried throughout the house, eventually reaching the guest room, where Mark still slept. After a few minutes, the brunette finally came to and realized he was still in the guest room. With a yawn, he stood up and walked out of the room and into the kitchen. 

"Makin' me breakfast mate?"

"Oh no, this is all for me." Gary said, attempting to joke around. "Of course, it was the least I could do." The blonde served two plates and set them on the table. 

"How are you feeling?" Mark asked as he poured two cups of coffee and set them on the table, next to each plate.

"I'm still trying to process everything y'know? But at least I feel better than yesterday night, that's for sure." Gary responded as he sat down.

Mark followed suit, "I understand mate. Just let me know if you need anything at all." He smiled before taking a bite of a piece of toast. 

"Thank you again." Gary took his first bite of food as well and chewed slowly, as thought thinking. Swallowing his food he spoke, "I was actually thinking maybe we could go to the studio. I don't want this to put a setback on me album." 

"Sounds great. Y'know I was gonna suggest that later. I still have to record two more songs." Mark gave Gary one of those smiles the popstar was known for. 

"You still have to show me the rest of 'em, you've only shown me two songs." The blonde said as he took another bite from his food.

"I know, I know. I think I know which song is gon' be my first single too. But I could say the same for you Mr. Barlow. You 'aven't shown me any at all!" 

"I still got a ways away mate. But you're right too. I have written a few songs, but I just don't know if they're right for this. They're completely different than anything I've done as a solo- besides, I wrote one of them at a very dark time in me life." He looked down at his plate and pushed around some baked beans with his spoon. Mark didn't have to hear much more to realize what time Gary was talking about. It had been the previous year, and it had broken all of their hearts. Mark couldn't even begin to imagine what Gary must have gone through. 

"Well I still want to hear 'em. You know I could give a little feedback." He reached out and gently squeezed Gary's forearm. The older man smiled in response. 

"Alright mate."

~

Gary had been the first of the two to walk into the studio, immediately going to his faithful friend, the piano. It wasn't treasured Yamaha piano, but it was still pretty damn close. Mark chuckled to himself as he saw Gary do B line directly to the piano. He, however, went directly to turn on the computers and to get a few other things set up. Just as he was setting up the board, he heard a beautiful but sad melody coming from Gary's oh-so skilled fingers. 

"Is that one of yer songs?" 

Gary nodded, "It's the song I'm afraid is going to have to come with a government health warning." He continued playing the tune he had been playing moments before. Mark immediately stopped all that he was doing and focused all his attention on his friend. 

" _How can I make sure no one notices me? I don’t wanna conversation with nobody and it hurts too much to say how I feel. What you don’t know, is all I know. How can I make sure that I fool everyone? Gonna wear a suit and tie and put my bravest face on and it’s far too deep to show you this wound. It won’t heal no time soon, nobody knows what I’m going through_ " The lyrics fell from his lips, his eyes closed the whole time.

Mark never ceased being amazed by the raw emotion Gary managed to portray in his music. There was always passion, and just something else that made Mark feel like something was burning from within him. It was simply amazing. But as he continued to listen to this song, he just wished he could steal away the pain Gary was feeling. 

" _I’m dying inside. Who knows what I’m thinking, what I’m trying to hide. Yeah I’m dying all night. I’m breathing but I can’t feel life. I’m smiling but I’m dying inside."_ Gary continued singing, eyes still shut tightly, fingers moving swiftly over the keys. 

As soon as Mark heard the chorus, he wanted to run over to Gary and hug him, tell him everything was okay, but he knew that saying that never worked. 

Gary managed to get out another verse before he opened his eyes and looked over at his friend who had his own expression of sadness etched on his face. Stopping the song, Gary laughed a bit dryly, "Well enough of that. My presence already brings the mood down, we don't need this right now do we?" 

Mark walked over to where Gary sat, "It was beautiful mate. Absolutely heartbreaking but beautiful- and just, you see you've got me speechless." 

Gary scoffed and nudged the younger man. "It's your turn to show me a song."

"Alright, alright. Well this is one of the songs I still need to record but I think this might be me first single. I have a strong feelin' about it." Mark walked over to the corner of the studio, grabbed his guitar and walked back over to the couch. He began strumming, leading in with a few chords before starting to sing.

_"Gonna build a rocket, anytime you want it, paint it pretty colours. Gonna light it up and take us to the moon, that's what I'm gonna do, that's what I'm gonna...Save up all the papers, gonna need litter, maybe take a minute to get in my head directions all the way. You want to get away, I'm taking you..."_

Gary smiled as he heard his friend begin to sing. There was so much talent there, and Gary just wished he would have listened more to him while they were younger. Mark always had great ideas, and if it wasn't for him now, the tours would all be disasters. Gary truly admired the younger man, and in that moment he couldn't picture himself being with anybody else. Mark was just a kind hearted person whose smile could make you feel happy for at least a moment. 

" _'Cause we're just stars trying to get back to where we're from and one by one we're gonna leave this planet. So don't look back, 'cause you know that it's all just time, when you've got nothing on your mind. You made it. "_

After a few minutes, Mark finished his song and looked over at Gary, who was smiling. 

"Bloody brilliant mate! Are you sure you don't wanna save that for a Take That album?" Gary joked, earning a laugh from Mark. "No but seriously Markie, it was amazing. I think you should go with your gut on this one and make that your first single."

"If you insist Mr. Barlow." Mark laughed and set his guitar down. "So shall we get to recordin'?"

"It'd be my honest pleasure."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So i'm still trying to slowly ease into things because gary here has been through a lot so just give it a few more chapters im sorry

**Author's Note:**

> So I heard Mr. Everything by Gary Barlow the other day and while I've heard it before this time it sparked a little AUish thing in my head and I knew I had to write something. (Besides I can't sleep). I just don't wanna offend anyone. I wish the best for Gary and his wife as well for Mark and his. Like I said, all this is pure fictional works.


End file.
